Meaning & Origin
A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Bernard is a boy's and girl's baby name of Germanic origin, from the Old High German Bernardus — combining bern ("bear") and hard ("brave, hardy"), meaning "brave bear." Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the 12th-century monk and theologian, and Saint Bernard of Menthon, patron of mountaineers (and the breed of dog named after him), gave the name enduring Christian prestige.
Bernard ranked in the U.S. top 30 boys' names from the 1880s through the 1940s. It's a name with serious intellectual weight — Bernard Shaw, Bernard Russell (both went by different names, but Bernard has that energy). Currently positioned for the same old-gent revival bringing Sidney and Eugene back to nurseries.